A Look Into the “Faces & Places” Bay Area Exhibition
Photos by Michael @bicyclelad & Harmonie Malengo @harmocaptures
Nora Lalle is an artist & curator, and the founder of Pamplemousse Magazine, a print publication dedicated to film photography. Her curatorial and editorial work focuses on highlighting emerging artists and creating opportunities in print and on walls for underrepresented voices. Nora gained valuable professional experience working for museums and galleries before deciding to carve out her own professional path. Currently her main focus is Pamplemousse Magazine and related exhibitions and collaborations.
We were honored to attend the “Faces and Places” Bay Area Exhibition and release of the new issue of Pamplemousse Magazine hosted at the East Bay Photo Collective. It was great speaking to some of the photographers whose work was featured. Read more below.
NORA LALLE: My name is Nora. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and I've always loved photography, always loved art. Been shooting film and doing photo stuff since I was a teenager. Now I would call myself an artist, curator and the founder and editor of Pamplemousse magazine, which is dedicated to emerging artists who shoot film and just celebrating the art of analog and providing spaces, both in print and on the walls, for people to show their work regardless of their experience. So it's just been really fun to build a community and encourage people and inspire people to keep making art that's awesome.
HOTSPOT CREATIVES: And so what inspired you to create Pamplemousse magazine?
NL: Good question. I've always loved printing my photographs. I was making little zines and printed things back in art school and during the pandemic, had a lot of free time to sort of experiment with stuff, and then I was taking more photos. I wanted to do something with them. I was working at a photo lab, Photoworks on Market Street in San Francisco, and I started meeting a bunch of photographers and also taking more photos myself because I had access to the lab. And then I was like, let me just make a magazine. And I wanted to do something regularly, not just like one-off scenes, but really feel like I was creating something that could come out, you know, every so often, and could really focus on the artists, and then it really just evolved from a simple zine to now having more interviews and more in depth content. But I just believe in print things like in analog film photography — it's just a different way of digesting and taking in art than digitally.
HC: It's so amazing to just see it continue to evolve. I was actually mentioning it to my aunt. She was like, “Where are you going?” And I was like, “Oh, I'm going to the magazine release party. It's called Pamplemousse magazine.” And she was like, “Wait, I've heard of it. Oh, wow.” She speaks French.
NL: I used to live in Paris, so I speak French, and it's just one of my favorite French words. It's a fun one. It's just a whimsical, fun word.
HC: So can you describe the light bulb moment you had when you thought of this issue and like the theme and the name, like balance, the balance issue?
NL: That’s a really good question. I can't pinpoint like one moment, but I'm always thinking about what the theme should be. This one landed a little bit more conceptual of an idea. But I think I had seen another magazine, or been inspired by a magazine that had this double sort of flip cover. So this issue has two front covers, and you flip it over, and half of it's upside down. I was just inspired by other sources, and then I decided it would be cool to explore different sides of photography, whether it's like Polaroid versus large format and more about the technical, or if it's like portraits versus landscapes. So I just wanted to kind of pair different concepts within photography together, and then I decided to present it in this sort of different physical way, so that the reader is having to interact with the magazine in a new way - flipping it over, jumping around, and they feel like they're really immersed in what they're reading.
HC: Yeah, I can't wait to see the print. I need to make my way over there. So that's really, really cool.
NL: That's where that concept of balance comes from, wanting it to feel like we are touching on different concepts, ideas and technical aspects of photography, and that it comes together to kind of be a balanced portrayal of that.
HC: What do you hope that readers take away from this issue and what sets it apart from your previous issue?
NL: That’s a good question. I think a really good variety of stuff from more alternative projects to cyanotypes, dark room process stuff, to polaroid and more traditional large format and landscape photography. So I think I just want people to see that the possibilities are endless and that there’s different ways to approach photography. That’s it’s all interesting and valuable and to explore and be inspired by different subjects and executions of photography. You don’t have to be cornered into one idea or theme.
HC: And you can definitely see that here at the exhibition today, with all the different styles. That’s really cool. Do you mind touching on the collaborative process of putting together this magazine issue and the partnerships involved?
NL: One of our values and mission statements is to always work with a diverse range of voices and perspectives. I try to elevate people who are younger and less experienced because they might not have a lot of opportunities. I’m lucky to have a couple editors who help me connect with people as well as a network of people who keep their eye out for interesting work being created all over the world and at various events I meet people and see their work. Once we had the concept and idea of how each side of the issue would be it was pretty easy to slot in who we thought would work. I wanted to just show a wide range, not only point of view and artists but also the style, subject and technique. And it all kind of comes together. Usually it’s hard to say exactly how I find the people, but one way or the other we always land somewhere good. I really want the different projects to complement each other, the theme is pretty vague and conceptual but that helps fit a lot of ideas in it so it is a fun way to approach each one.
HC: Thank you so much for your time. This was really fun, anything else you would like to add on?
NL: Just that I hope people like picking up a physical magazine and enjoy consuming art that way and just keep shooting and keep creating.
JOANNA MALPICA: I am Joanna Malpica. I am a Chamorro Pacifica photographer based in Concord, California. I mainly take portraits and am trying to delve into self-portraiture and identity-based work, just to kind of get some ties with the matrilineal line in my family. I’ve been taking self-portraits of myself because portraits are fun, but I need to turn the camera towards myself and that's gonna be my biggest challenge right now.
HOTSPOT CREATIVES: Can you describe the time you kind of realized you wanted to pursue photography, and what inspired you?
JM: I was always into photography as a teenager, but then of course, school and society, and your parents, they kind of push you towards doing something a little bit more practical. So, I got my degree in something that actually wasn't practical. I was going to actually go to grad school for it, but grad school was too much money. I didn't want to keep going to school, so I just decided to, you know, do 9-5 work. And then I got into photography as a hobby, and then I actually took some intro to photo classes in college, and I got into street photography. I started doing these random events at random studios out here where models just come and there's little like backdrops. So, I would take those photos, and I was like, "Mmm, I kind of like taking photos of people." And then the biggest shift was definitely when I started my API & The Bay project. That was my biggest shift, because I did, I want to say 18 photoshoots in the span of like four months. I look back at it, and I'm like, "What the hell was I on?" Because I worked 9-5, so this was all on the weekends. This was all Saturdays, Sundays, and then a couple during my spring break, so I look back, and I'm like, "How the hell did I do it?"
HC: Did you notice anything specific or that was obvious about your development?
JM: Yeah, I definitely realized I love environmental portraiture. I love portraits in environments, because I do want to improve my studio photography, but it's just too challenging for me right now. Which is what I'm gonna challenge myself with. My self-portraiture is making sets. But there's one thing you're just kind of using natural lighting, you're just using your environment. I do love that, but I need to challenge myself. The next step is challenging myself both in building a set and then taking a photo. And even just thinking about it now, I'm thinking of a scene, like in a tableau, it's so everything is so intentional. And it's that intentionality that's really pushing me to just go for it.
HC: So how did you approach the theme of faces and places for this exhibition?
JM: I actually decided to do a little bit more of close-ups with my photos because I was working off of hundreds of photos, and some of them the model was too far back and it was showing more of the place, too. And I was like, "Well, the curators are already taking photos of places, so I kind of wanted to only pick ones that were close up." And it's not super close, it's not super far either, kind of in that middle area.
ANGELA MARLAUD: My name is Angela and I'm from the Bay Area. I was born and raised in the Bay Area. I'm originally from San Jose, but I have been living in Oakland for more than 10 years. I just picked up photography in the summer of 2022. I had done it before, but it was off and on, and after COVID, I kind of was in a period in my life where I just felt like I really needed to have a creative outlet. It's really changed my life in so many good ways. I've met a lot of people, and I take photos every day, and it just challenges me to find something beautiful or funny or interesting in my everyday surroundings, so I'm really grateful to have it in my life.
HOTSPOT CREATIVES: Wow, that's really awesome that you were able to discover that outlet and incorporate it into your daily life. How do you feel you have evolved as a person from photography?
AM: That's a good question. I think it's just being grateful for everything around me and trying to find something beautiful or interesting in my everyday life, and, you know, not to take my surroundings for granted, or even new places that I go to. I always have my eyes open, looking for something, looking for a photo, for a moment. So, it's definitely just made me more present and appreciate where I am, wherever I'm at.
HC: I feel like that's so needed now because, I mean, we're all on our phones. You know, even just walking down the street, you're so focused on either directions or who's texting you, you can miss something so beautiful right next to you. So, that's nice you're able to be more attentive, and appreciate the beauty, I definitely can learn a lot from that.
HOTSPOT CREATIVES: Can you describe when you first realized photography was something you wanted to pursue?
MARCUS VALDERRAMA: Yeah, that's a funny story. So, in 2018, I actually ruptured my Achilles twice. Same Achilles. The first time was playing dodgeball, and then the second time was once I was playing baseball.
HC: Isn't that like a really bad thing? I always hear about it.
MV: Yeah, it was. It was pretty terrible, for sure. Oh, my God. But because I had ruptured my Achilles, I was on crutches for like half the year, and once I was on crutches, I couldn't take any photos. And that's when I realized how much I missed taking photos, and I was like, I want to take this more seriously and I want to have it be a part of my practice and my everyday life. So, that's the thing. I was like, "I'm going to have this be my thing. I want to be Marcus, the photographer."
HC: And if you don't mind me asking, like what did you do before then? Are you a full-time photographer now?
MV: I am not a full-time photographer now. I mean, I work 9-to-5. Photography is just like my big passion outside of work. Before that, I still took photos, it just wasn't something that I took as seriously, it's just something I did passively. It was after that whole thing happened that I started to like research and understand more of the history of photography and what it takes to get better and just understand the other photographers that had made impactful work. I wanted to be a part of that lineage
HC: My last question is, how are you able to approach the theme of faces and places for this exhibition?
MV: A big part of my practice is just wandering around San Francisco and bouncing around different neighborhoods or running errands and what have you. I love just the everyday life of San Francisco and taking photos of everyday life in the city. To take a portrait of San Francisco can mean so many different things, and so for me to be able to represent a city that I love and one that I've lived in for a long time, it was very big for me. So approaching it I didn’t want to just take a photo of one specific neighborhood. There's so many different parts of the city. To be able to have five photos that represent five different parts of the city was pretty big in my opinion and I really enjoyed the way that Nora decided to curate the work that I just sent over to her. One photo was in the Mission, one was in the Fillmore, one is in like Lower Haight to Boise Park, one was on Market Street, and the last one is Bernal Heights Park.
BEJAN SIAVOSHY: My name is Bejan Siavoshy. I am from San Jose, California. I've been taking photos for the better part of 20 years on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, so a lot here, a lot in Asia, where I used to work. I'm a journalist by trade, but that also kind of informed a lot of my photography. Nowadays, though, I do a lot more personal work and a lot of it's focused on people and portraiture, things like that.
HOTSPOT CREATIVES: So, and then the second question, I think you touched on it briefly, but at what point did you realize you wanted to pursue photography?
BS: Honestly, it was like my teenage years, when I was getting closer to 18 years old, I remember I always wanted to be, quote-unquote, good at something that was visual, like drawing or painting or whatever. I didn't really kind of understand at the time that you gotta practice at something to get good at it. I didn't take as well to drawing or painting as I did to photography. So when I picked up a camera, it was like, oh, I can make things look how I wanted to. But then over time I started taking more and more photos, and learning more about photography in itself, and then becoming a journalist, studying journalism. You start to see the power of photography - how it can inform, really shape how people see something, how it can tell stories, how it can destroy, too. So like, if you look at a lot of the way people have been misrepresented or misunderstood through photography, you see the way that people talk about the power of the pen. I also feel like the power of the lens has just as much force behind it and you can use it for good, use it for bad or whatever. I think just that, like the reality of what photography can be, it was really appealing. And so I took to it and have been doing it ever since.
HC: How were you able to approach the theme of faces and places with this exhibition?
BS: I think that when we really put places and faces in perspective, they are parts of a whole. The greater story is the community or the lack thereof. I feel like I have been very people-focused in my photography, but you see a lot of work here that's not people-focused, it's location and space focused, and I feel like these are two parts of a whole that are now joining together. I don't think it's the full picture but you get almost this greater context of what we're each doing individually.
We all come together and you get to have a sense of here are the people, here the places in the space in this community and that is the Bay Area. I feel like a lot of the stuff here is all shot in the Bay Area. We are each other's missing puzzle pieces in that regard, you know? That's not even to say, people need to go and change what they're shooting, but I do feel like when you have these collaborations like when it's something as intentional as this, the beauty of it is you get to see these parts of what the community is that we are shooting in. I feel like my work is like one of those puzzle pieces, you know?
And again, I'm not saying there's a right way. It's whatever speaks to us individually that we go and photograph, but the fact that it could all come together and it's appreciated by you and the people that come to see it, I think that's where you get to kind of see the magic of it all. And where you see that, oh, it's part of a greater whole.